1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates to pre-forming an end of a category 5 (CAT5) unshielded twisted pair (UTP) cable used for Ethernet wiring.
2. Background Art
A category 5 (CAT5) unshielded twisted pair (UTP) cable typically has eight individual wires which are arranged in four twisted wire pairs. Insulation coverings respectively surround and insulate the individual wires. The insulation coverings have different colors which identify the individual wires. An outer insulation sheath surrounds and insulates the twisted wire pairs.
Users such as technicians install a RJ45 plug on an end of a CAT5 UTP cable in order to terminate the cable for interconnection into a RJ45 jack. Installing a RJ45 plug on a terminating end of a CAT5 UTP cable requires that a user initially strip the outer insulation sheath from the terminating end of the cable in order to expose the twisted wire pairs. The user then untwists and arranges the individual wires of the exposed twisted wire pairs into a specific configuration according to the color codes of the individual wires. The user then inserts the terminating end of the cable into the RJ45 plug such that the individual wires are individually received by the proper wire troughs of the RJ45 plug with a portion of the cable adjacent to the terminating end being received by the RJ45 plug as well. The user then crimps the RJ45 plug onto the terminating end of the cable which has been inserted into the RJ45 plug.
This operation of installing a RJ45 plug on a terminating end of a CAT5 UTP cable requires a high degree of manual dexterity and experience on the part of users. For instance, the individual wires are not laid out in the RJ45 plug by pairs, and the lengths of the resulting individual wires are relatively short given the length of a RJ45 plug. Furthermore, many users are not completely aware of the various color coding schemes used for CAT5 UTP terminations.
For a proper termination, the individual wires of the exposed twisted wire pairs should not be untwisted more than two twists and the length of the individual wires should be such that the sheath of the cable portion adjacent to the terminating end of the cable extends into the RJ45 plug. With a proper termination, the individual wires and the adjacent cable portion can be crimped properly such that the individual wires make contact with electrical connectors of the RJ45 plug and such that the adjacent cable portion has a sufficient amount of the outer insulation sheath to provide a strain relief.
This operation often has to be repeated to obtain a satisfactory combination of the operation elements prior to attempting to crimp the RJ45 plug onto the cable. Failure to provide the correct positioning or presentation frequently requires that the just crimped end of the cable be cut off and another attempt made to complete the task of installing a RJ45 plug on another terminating end of the cable.